Joanna Rowsell only got into track cycling to escape a double maths lesson.

The sun was shining through her classroom window and the prospect of riding a bike once round the school playing field did not seem so bad.

In the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on Friday night she was mighty glad she did. Watched by comedian Billy Connolly , she was crowned queen of her sport.

Rowsell, already the world champion, was simply too good for her rivals in the women’s 3,000 metres individual pursuit.

In front of the Big Yin, hers was the biggest grin as she added gold to Olympic champion Jason Kenny’s silver in the men’s sprint.

Rowsell, 25, said: “I only got into this sport because British Cycling came to my school and invited us all to ride round in a 200m circle.

“I went along purely because it was a nice sunny day and to get myself out of double maths. I must have done ­something right as they asked me to attend a training camp.

“But I didn’t have any cycling shoes, turned up in trainers and tracksuit bottoms and then ­immediately fell off. They must have thought they had got the wrong girl! I was a complete beginner. It has been a long road from there to here.”

(Image: Paul Vicente/NOPP)

But one which, since the first of her five world titles in 2008, has been paved with gold.

“I never thought I’d go this far,” added the reigning Olympic team pursuit champion, who beat Australia’s Annette Edmondson in the final with a blistering average speed of 51km/h.

“When I first started people doubted me, but I like to prove people wrong.” This has not been a vintage Games for an England track cycling team which is effectively Great Britain.

Performance levels, understandably perhaps, have come down from the high of London 2012 .

Prior to the start of competition, Kenny had urged the team to “lay a foundation stone” with the Rio Olympics now on the horizon.

When he finished 11th out of 12 in sprint qualifying and needed to come through the repechage just to stay alive, he was not setting the best example.

However, his mojo was back on Friday and he rode like a man possessed, trouncing the fastest qualifier in the quarter-final then coming from behind to win his best-of-three race semi-final.

And when he tied the final at one win apiece against New Zealand’s Sam Webster it seemed to all the world that he would complete one of the great ­comebacks.

He could not quite close the deal. In the decider, he allowed Webster, a former world junior champion, to get away. He had nothing left to give. After the race he threw up.

“I am shattered,” said Kenny, who had ridden to team sprint silver 24 hours before. “I think I had a bit of cramp.”

No such problems for Rowsell who rides in the scratch race on Saturday, the points race on Sunday and the time trial next Thursday.

Hey, it beats double maths.

* BEN PROUD ended England’s wait for their first gold medal in the Glasgow 2014 pool when he won the 50m butterfly final.

The 19-year-old Londoner was up against former Olympic and world champion Roland Schoeman, but a new Games record time of 22.93sec earned him victory.